


Blood Is Thicker Than Water, Probably More like the Consistency of Whole Milk, or Maybe Half-And-Half

by MogmaMittens



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: (its preslash because i say so), Blood Drinking, Canon Compliant, Gen, Niles Secret Santa (Fire Emblem), Oaths & Vows, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 22:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17252228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MogmaMittens/pseuds/MogmaMittens
Summary: All things considered, bleeding was something Niles was pretty good at.[ prompt fill for @outlawofnohr on twitter for the holiday Niles exchange! ]





	Blood Is Thicker Than Water, Probably More like the Consistency of Whole Milk, or Maybe Half-And-Half

**Author's Note:**

  * For [outlawofnohr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/outlawofnohr/gifts).



“Are you nervous?” Leo -  _ Lord  _ Leo, Niles corrected himself - asked from his place on the altar, looking more like a haughty child than a prince drowning in his ceremonial robes. They were in one of the deeper rooms in Krakenburg, untouched by time and war, and Niles couldn’t help the feeling of  _ not supposed to be here  _ rising in his throat _ ,  _ like the ghosts of past kings would tear him limb from limb for being so obviously  _ not  _ nobility. He wasn’t even a guardsman, for that matter, or anyone who would ever have the right to travel this deep into the castle. It was uncomfortable, the air stifling and thick.

“Are you, my lord?” Niles replied, adjusting his own robe that felt too soft on his skin. He was to shed it anyway, he’d been told, once the ceremony started - something about baring himself to the Gods to pledge himself into Lord Leo’s service. His trousers were scratchier, less foreign, and he was excited to be rid of the sensory disturbance on his back.

“Please. It’s not as though I haven’t done it before,” he said, though the shift in his stance gave away his apprehension. That was… ominous, to say the least, but it didn’t seem so bad when Lord Leo explained it to him the night before. 

_ It’ll be simple,  _ Leo said,  _ so long as you’re not squeamish.  _ Niles had assured him that he wasn’t, and the diagram Leo had shown him didn’t point to anything more than a simple blood ritual. A little cutting, a little blood, nothing he hadn’t heard of before. Blood rituals were commonplace in the Nohrian royal family, so much so that it was an event at every festival and ceremony led by the crown. He wasn’t worried.

Niles flinched when the old door behind him creaked open and a parade of onlookers, witnesses maybe, filed into the room. They stood mostly in darkness - the only light came from a small, circular window, positioned on the ceiling above Leo’s head so that he looked like an angel. It was fitting, the sappier, softer part of Niles thought, all things considered. 

A priest, it must’ve been, stepped up onto the altar and gestured for Niles to join them. The beginning of the ritual, he supposed. Nodding, he nearly tripped on his robes on the way up, his eyes trained to the floor. Lord Leo was… shorter than him, and the magic radiated off of him in waves. He was a powerful magician, but he knew that already -  _ everyone  _ knew that - but he’d never felt anything like this up close. His fingers twitched as his side, wanting to feel it  _ closer.  _

The altar was a stone circle, rising out of the floor, with a short dais rising from the center. Atop it sat a chalice, made of some kind of black gemstone. Niles knew what  _ that  _ was for, at least - Leo didn’t leave him completely in the dark. They’d spent the night before going over the process, step by step, until Niles had every line and movement memorized.

“Niles, look at me,” Leo commanded, and it felt like an act of contrition to be looking him in the eye, but he did. “On your knees, and remove your coverings.” 

He did so without hesitation, not daring to break eye contact - to disobey an order.

“Are we ready to begin?” The priest asked, like he’d been through this a dozen times. He probably had, Niles realized, with all the royal siblings, and how many retainers they must’ve all had. Lord Leo nodded and Niles was reminded of where, exactly, he was, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

“We are gathered here today,” he began, and Niles was reminded of a marriage ceremony, if marriage ceremonies took place in dark basements, surrounded by hooded figures. To each their own, he guessed. “To intertwine the fates of our highness, prince Leo of Nohr, son of Garon, and Niles, of Windmire, in an oath of fealty. Before we proceed, your highness, do we have the consent of our majesty to bind you both?”

“We do.” Leo’s adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed, his mouth hoarse. He was  _ definitely  _ nervous, even if he didn’t say anything. Perhaps that was why he’d asked Niles earlier, to see if Niles felt the same way. Oh, well.

“Excellent. If your highness would hold out his hand…” he said, expectantly, and Leo did so; his hands were pale, and there was a scar on his palm from what Niles guessed were past “binding ceremonies.” How many retainers had he gone through before Niles arrived? How recently? Before he could overthink too much, the priest produced a dagger from his belt. It was visibly aged but well-kept and glinted in the light. “May the dusk dragon protect you.” With one hand, he held Leo’s hand still, and with the other, he sliced through the skin of his palm. He didn’t even wince. Maybe he was used to this. “And into the chalice goes the blood of dragons, those which lead us, and protect us from harm.”

It came down in little rivulets, collecting in the cup faster than if it’d been cut normally. If he had to wager a guess, it was probably a spell to expedite the process, or… something. He didn’t know much of magic, and would probably have to ask Lord Leo later, if it ever came up.

“And Niles?” It looked like it was his turn, and Niles wasted no time in offering his own hand. It had its fair share of scars already, mostly on the knuckles, some on the fingers, but none like this. None to  _ bind  _ him. “May the dusk dragon protect you.” The dagger bit into his palm, and Niles watched his blood gather to the surface, then drip into the chalice like Lord Leo’s, mixing together into one.

It was poetic, in a way. Niles could understand it.

“Into the chalice goes the blood of the commoner, the protected and the protector. Even in death, may he fulfill his duty.”

Strange way to put it, but Niles couldn’t argue. He’d be willing to jump on a sword if Lord Leo willed it, though he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Fitting enough.

He could smell the blood and it was tingling in a way that  _ just blood  _ shouldn’t, and he realized this must’ve been the magic, or maybe the effect of Leo’s lineage. Regardless, it was strange, and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“Drink, your highness.”

Leo reached out, one hand still bleeding, and took the chalice between both palms. Carefully, he brought it to his lips and Niles could see him swallow. It gave him a kind of thrill, knowing that Leo was doing this - drinking his blood, taking a part of him. He handed it down to Niles, who did the same, and it stung his throat like bad wine. Did Leo feel it, too? Or was it normal for him? Did he not notice the energy thrumming in his veins? It tasted like salt and iron and  _ power,  _ down his throat and rolling down his chin. It was borderline erotic, with Leo looking down at him like this, and he basked in the glow of the moonlight bouncing off his skin. It felt like  _ more  _ now, like it was running through his body and into the earth.

He heard Leo clear his throat, and he sheepishly replaced the chalice onto the dais. Didn’t want to make a fool out of himself, especially not by chugging blood like it was water and he was a dying man in the desert. 

Niles smacked his lips, taking inventory of his head. It was spinning, like he was drunk, and he paid it little mind when Leo stepped around to where he was sitting, only taking notice when his hands - one still wet, still warm - cupped his jaw and tilted his head up so that they could lock eyes once again.

“Niles,” Leo was talking now, his voice soft and far away. “Do you swear to protect me, even at the expense of your own life?”

“Yes,” he said, breathlessly, his eye half lidded when he met Leo’s gaze. He looked back down at him expectantly, and Niles realized he was supposed to say something else. Right. They went over this. “I will protect you until my skin runs cold, and my mind turns sour, lest the Gods be vengeful, and snatch my soul.” 

Leo nodded and leaned forward, his lips smearing their mixed blood on his forehead. It tingled there, too, and he felt it reverberate in his head before running down his arms, his legs. “Then you are mine, Niles of Windmire, until the Gods take you.”

_ “I am yours.”  _ Saying that felt so  _ final,  _ and freeing, almost. Like he had a place, now. Like he really  _ did _ belong to Leo, body, heart, and soul.

Niles didn’t realize how much of his weight he was leaning into Leo’s hands until he stepped back and he almost fell, catching himself in time to watch the old doors creak open once again and the room filled with light.

It was over faster than it started, and Leo pulled the sleeve of his robe over his hand, pressing it into the wound. That was probably smart with the way they were bleeding. Damn.

“I suggest you get cleaned up. If your hand keeps bleeding, come and see me. I trust you remember where your chambers are?” Lord Leo looked down at Niles, then down at his hand, frowning at the steady drip down his wrist.

“Yes, my lord.” Niles fell back onto his haunches, the backs of his hands flat on his knees. He felt different, that much was certain, and a pull to Leo that he didn’t feel before, but he expected it to be more… dramatic.

“You did well. Some don’t take as well to the dragon’s blood as well as you did,” Leo chuckled humorlessly, like he’d seen a dozen men die right here - he probably  _ had _ . Niles was about as far from nobility as you could get, yet here he was, left with was a tingle and an ache in his palm. It was ironic, definitely, or maybe some kind of divine prank. “Not many make it until the end of the ceremony. I knew you were a strong one.”

“I am flattered, my lord.” He bowed his head, and Leo sighed over him.

“I told you to look at me. I don’t expect you to stop now. Come on, stand up, unless you’d rather the guardsmen escort you to the bath.” There was a warmness to his voice, something that sounded like  _ pride.  _ It made Niles’ heart swell, and he grinned, slowly rising to his feet. “I’ll see you tonight, Niles.”

_ Tonight.  _ He said it with such certainty, and it felt… well, it felt like home, if he was being honest. More like home than he’d felt in years. “Yes, my lord.”  _ Until tonight. _

**Author's Note:**

> long time no... writing at all... lol.... ANYWAY this was fun to write, im glad my giftee and i are on the same bullshit because i knew i could absolutely mesh a couple of the prompts together so i hope u like it my friend!!


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